I am working on an idea...more to come....but I am looking for newbies to Power out there, that have a Powermeter or using a Kurt Kinetic or Cycleops Fluid 2 but don’t quite know what to do with it ? (Or will be getting one very soon)

People that kind of like the geeky numbers side of things, wanting to improve but don’t quite know which way to go and don’t really have a plan .

Do you fit this description ?

I am a newbie in powermeters too just got mine 6 weeks ago. I am using pedal based, but i do believe in the Powertap hub base. One thing for certain all the Elites in town and coaches here all agree in choosing between a stationary power meter (e.g. KK) and a Outdoor/Indoor Powermeter (e.g. Powertap) , The mobile powermeter is most preferable.

I raced using my pm in a Iron Relay i just followed the usage guide of Training/Racing with Power it worked well. I am slower than I expected , but i still feel strong that I can still run after 112 miles.

Here in town the Powertap and Stages are the most popular and sells alot.

We are going to create a Mentor group focused around training with power.

The reason I started this thread in TT was to gauge interest and slowly let people on board. I was sincerely concerned there could be nobody or 50 people, which is too much. There were several people involved to make this happen and it’s a lot of work, so I wanted to be sure we had the people to do it.

But this will be a bit more than a mentor group because we will actually be providing some training plans, tools and assistance to get going. We will also help you through the entire cycle.

Trust me this gets cooler as I describe it

People can do slight variations of this but if followed to the letter, you will install Golden Cheetah (free). GC has what is known as a training tab where kind of like Trainer Road you can see a workout in the form of a graph and you try to follow the graph. It shows you your Power, HR, target…all kind of cool things.

What is great is GC can then be used to analyze your workout. You can share the files so a coach can comment on them. You can maintain charts on your fitness. We will provide instructions, assistance to get you going. If you have a power meter all you will need is a computer and USB stick. If you are on VP all you need is the computer, USB stick and speed sensor. GC supports the Cycleops II and KK hence why I put them in the original idea. More geeknees to come.

Let’s talk about the plan. The absolute best part of this idea is I have convinced a top notch coach to write the plans for us. He gives them to me, I make a little workout file, you plop them into GC and you suffer. Life is simple. I will also provide descriptions so you can do them without GC. But doing them in GC has some real benefits.

You will learn to test. You will learn to track your progress. You will see how power allows you to pace yourself, push yourself and not over push yourself..

While we will do in on trainers, you will find out what types of efforts you can use on a Sprint, Oly, HIM and IM when you get outdoors You will learn to fear a 85 TSS 1 hour workout. If you do not fear it, you need to retest your FTP. You will learn to do that as well.

You will speak a whole new language and completely bore your significant other with terms like IF, TSS, NP, CP curve. You can impress your friends by showing them a mean maximal power chart.

There will be no FTP boasting or feeling bad that you are half of Jason’s. The only thing that counts is that you will be faster at the end of this cycle. Faster than any Zipp wheel or aero helmet would provide. The engine is going to get a new turbo charger.

All this stuff is free. The only thing we are going to ask and it is not mandatory is that if you get something out of this program you make a donation to a really good cause that I will let you know about later. No obligation, we won’t even know if you did or not. Completely your choice.. It’s a really good cause. The details of this to come.

Why did I do this ? I see people struggle with power and not have the time or the desire to figure it out. I saw Jorge do something similar a few years ago, I followed it and it helped me. Time to pay back to the community. I like geekness and I think others will to. I wanted to find a way to get people to know the cause I talked about above.

Oh yes, I forgot to mention…..who is the coach ? I told you it gets better as I describe it.

You probably know him: Shane.

Shane is one of the nicest and most helpful guys on BT. More important he is one of the most competent. He has never coached me but I know several guys that he has coached and they have improved dramatically. I watched the workouts he was giving his athletes and was incredibly impressed. You cannot imagine how lucky we are to have him onboard. The guy is busy with a career, coaching and his own kids, but he is volunteering his time to help us out. I will try to host the group so we don’t take up all of his time. I have been training with power a few years so know my way around GC and a Power Meter.

So set up your plain caves and get ready to have ‘fun’ in the new year. I

And a special thank you to to BT admins that allowed us to do this.

BTW, we will probably do another of these in the future (if it works out), so if you like the idea, don’t worry, there will be an opportunity to participate later.

If you want out, just drop me a note in PM. If you don’t think you will be able to follow the program let me know so we can free up a spot for someone else. I suspect there will be a few more spots available but let’s see.

I you still want in, just PM me to confirm, maybe just tell me your first name. I won't be publishing it or anything, just to know who you are. If you have concerns, by all means, just ask.

Would love to be in. Bought a Power2max and road with it a couple times to see the numbers. Ive been marathon training and the race is now 2 weeks away. Come January I'll hit the ground running for Ironman training and really want to see my bike split explode and get the know how to train with power. I'm PM'ing you.

Originally posted by marcag you will install Golden Cheetah (free). GC has what is known as a training tab where kind of like Trainer Road you can see a workout in the form of a graph and you try to follow the graph. It shows you your Power, HR, target…all kind of cool things.

What is great is GC can then be used to analyze your workout. You can share the files so a coach can comment on them. You can maintain charts on your fitness. We will provide instructions, assistance to get you going. If you have a power meter all you will need is a computer and USB stick. If you are on VP all you need is the computer, USB stick and speed sensor. GC supports the Cycleops II and KK hence why I put them in the original idea.

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All this stuff is free. The only thing we are going to ask and it is not mandatory is that if you get something out of this program you make a donation to a really good cause that I will let you know about later.

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Why did I do this ? I see people struggle with power and not have the time or the desire to figure it out. I saw Jorge do something similar a few years ago, I followed it and it helped me. Time to pay back to the community.

Who is the coach ?
You probably know him: Shane.

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I hope you like the idea.

Marc
Which version of GC is best to download 2.1.0 or 3.0.0?
When will you let us know about the 'cause'?

Many thanks to Shane for his involvement and I am very much looking forward to this-

I LOVE the idea.
And good for you to give back. We all appreciate it and will benefit, so thanks!

Thank you so so much, Marc (and Shane!). This is way cool! I'm looking forward to it.

Couple questions: When does it start? What's the structure of the program look like -- days/week on the trainer, time requirements, enough recovery such that outdoor/long rides are doable? Is it suitable for any race distance or will it cater better to a specific distance?

Thank you so so much, Marc (and Shane!). This is way cool! I'm looking forward to it.

Couple questions: When does it start? What's the structure of the program look like -- days/week on the trainer, time requirements, enough recovery such that outdoor/long rides are doable? Is it suitable for any race distance or will it cater better to a specific distance?

The mentor groups will start in two weeks or so. I suspect we will start the program early in the new year which just a bit more than two weeks.

I suspect it will not be race distance specific. This is the time of year, far from your race that you can simply up your roof and ceiling and get more race specific as that gets close.